That probably is one of the reasons why Thursday's 8-1 loss to the Tigers in Game 4 of the ALCS likely will turn out to be Swisher's final game as a Yankee.

Swisher, 31, will be a free agent once the World Series is over; the Yankees are not expected to bring him back. A productive regular-season player, Swisher has a career batting average of .169 in 154 postseason at-bats.

A fan favorite at Yankee Stadium for most of his time with the Yankees, Swisher may have alienated even his most ardent boosters with comments the other day about how disappointed he was when fans booed him because of his postseason struggles.

Asked after Game 4 if he wants to return to the Yankees, he said: "Absolutely."

He called his four Yankees seasons "awesome, bro. Absolutely awesome, bro. Best place in the word to play, absolutely."

About his contract, he said: "I'll talk about all that stuff later . . . There's a lot of uncertainties with a lot of guys in here and this could be the last time this team's ever together. We wanted to try and go out with a bang and do it our way, but it just didn't work out."

Swisher, who went 1-for-4 Thursday, finished this postseason 5-for-30 (.167).

"It's just a bad way to end the season," he said. "This is never an easy interview, but we've got to hold our heads high, man, because I thought we had a tremendous year. It's just tough, man. I don't know how else to explain it."

It was a tough day for the Swisher family. His wife, JoAnna Garcia, was one of the stars of the NBC series "Animal Practice." It was canceled Thursday.